Union: In-depth inquiry needed into sawmill fires
Posted August 26, 2012 7:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RUSKIN (NEWS1130) – A sawmill fire in Ruskin is prompting renewed calls for an in-depth inquiry into why BC’s mills are going up in flames.
Fifty people have been thrown out of work at the shake and shingle mill near Maple Ridge. No word on the cause, and luckily no one was hurt.
Two workers were killed in a Burns Lake mill explosion in January. Two more were fatally injured in another fire in Prince George in April. Plus a mill was destroyed in Abbotsford in May.
Steve Hunt with the United Steelworkers Union is frustrated that the safety of employees is overseen by different agencies, like WorkSafe BC and the BC Safety Authority.
“It’s been brought to light very recently that they’re not talking to one another or if they are, not very well. In fact, we say it needs to be looked at very seriously so we don’t continue seeing exploding and burning mills,” he says.
He thinks by cutting corners, companies are risking employees’ lives.
“The clean up crews have been eliminated. In that environment, an incredible amount of dust accumulates. Dust is explosive and combustible. Profits come before sensibility sometimes. In some of these cases, that’s what’s happening, which is why it deserves a very serious look.”
He’d like an industry-wide inquiry into sawmill safety, much like the forestry fatality summit held in 2005.
Ruskin fire erupted early Sunday morning
The sawmill fire at 287 St. near Lougheed Highway was first spotted by an off-duty RCMP officer who was on his way home around midnight.
Callers to the News1130 newsroom spotted a red ball of flames from 240 St. and Lougheed Highway.
Maple Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Mark Smitton says the first calls came in around 12:15 a.m.
“On our arrival [the mill] was involved from one end to the other. Maple Ridge responded with seven fire trucks and we had mutual aid assistance from Mission with three tender trucks for water supply,” explains Smitton.
“The mill section for making shakes and shingles is pretty much destroyed, they’ll have to rebuild.”
John drove by shortly before 4 a.m. “There’s a fair amount of smoke. You can smell it. If you’re driving along and you have your windows down, and before you get too close to it, you can smell that there is something burning.”
Alan phoned us and described the heat. “Put it this way, we were driving on Lougheed and we parked on the side and we could feel the heat from the fire on Lougheed Highway.”
Employees witness fire
Once word spread about the fire, workers gathered to gawk at the sight. They say they are trying to look forward but admit it will be difficult.
Julie Lowney has been with the company for most of her life. “It’s quite devastating actually to see what just happened there. You don’t even know what to feel, it’s confused feelings really.”
John Lowney is worried, but he says the tight-knit work community is resilient. “It’s the second fire. They went through the first one, so hopefully they’ll do it again.”
Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin laments the type of jobs that the mill fire has wiped out.
“Typically those jobs create the kind of income and value that can support a family. They are not entry- level, minimum-wage type jobs. They are family-supporting jobs and wages that are lost to the community and that’s tough.”
He is of course hoping the company rebuilds.
One year ago, there was another massive fire at the Watkins Mill just up the road from this one. Two buildings were destroyed in that blaze.
